Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 24.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,260 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 7.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.9% in the second quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $128,000. Sit Investment Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.8% in the second quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 2,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Bollard Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.64% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Incorporated (AFL) opened at 80.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.57. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $66.50 and a 12 month high of $81.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.20. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.09% and a net margin of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $5.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post $6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 23rd will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 21st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.94%.

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A number of analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. ValuEngine raised Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. BidaskClub downgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Barclays PLC raised their target price on Aflac from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Aflac from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Finally, FBR & Co reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.50.

In related news, President Kriss Cloninger III sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.06, for a total value of $283,710.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 253,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,524,067.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Karole Lloyd bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $77.01 per share, for a total transaction of $77,010.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $558,553.53. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 240,203 shares of company stock worth $18,612,224. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated is a business holding company. The Company is involved in supplemental health and life insurance, which is marketed and administered through its subsidiary, American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (Aflac). The Company’s insurance business consists of two segments: Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S.

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